In my experience, emails to customer (dis)service at LIRR take 1 to 6 months for a non-sensical reply. Back some years ago when Helena was in charge, she had a link on the MTA site to email her. Responses - and action if appropriate, were usually within a day or two.
I'm guessing LIRR ran out of working machines other than daily. The antiques are pretty worn out, and someone probably thought they could get away with this. You might want to reach out to your state assemblyman or senator and ask them to reach out to LIRR. OR, reach out to the LIRRCC - Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council / PCAC - email
[email protected], and ask them for help - there is a small permanent staff for PCAC and they can reach out more effectively.